Brown Estate Zinfandel Just Released.

Posted by thewineinsiders in Wine Reviews on Jan 19th, 2009 | 0 comments

With the ZAP Zinfandel Festival still almost two weeks away, the mental and physical preparation has surely already begun amongst all lovers of this insanely popular grape. One of the year’s most heavily-attended tastings, ZAP showcases producers from all over California and provides a rare opportunity to taste Zinfandels from regions as disparate as Napa, Paso Robles, Shenandoah, and more – all within brief moments of one another.
Year after year, one of our favorite wines at the festival is the Brown Estate Napa Zinfandel. This bottling marries the unique, concentrated flavors of Zinfandel with a structure and complexity that one might expect from a Cabernet grown on the same property. There’s nothing shy or reserved about it, either. At tasting after tasting, we’ve seen people fall in love with this wine upon first sip – its abundant fruit flavors instantly converting casual festival goers into diehard Brown Estate followers.

BUY: Brown Estate Zinfandel Napa 2007

#1 Collector Zinfandel – VINEYARD 29

Posted by thewineinsiders in Wine Reviews on Aug 4th, 2008 | 0 comments

Many Zin lovers think Turley is the #1 collector Zin. I disagree for many reasons I won’t get into now but mainly because I think the finest, most impressive, age-worthy Zin year in year out is the single bottling from Vineyard 29’s “Aida” vineyard (formerly a Turley vineyard designate).

“(8/1/8) We pulled a 2003 vintage of this wine out of our cellar for a BBQ with some friends and were VERY, VERY impressed with the development. I was a big fan of this vintage upon release and can assure you it’s aged into a remarkable Zinfandel. I’m confident that fewer than 5% of serious wine collectors and less than 20% of wine lovers would even identify this wine as a Zin because it reminds me more of a perfectly aged Napa Cabernet. It was graceful with perfectly balanced fruit. A truly exciting experience to sample this wine aged to perfection. Note: personally, I rarely enjoy a Zinfandel more than 3 – 4 years after the vintage but this gem was still shining at age 5 and probably had at least another year or two of vibrant life in it. I rated this wine a solid 96 points!”

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